Yeh Galiyan Yeh Chaubara, a Lata Mangeshkar classic picturised on Padmini Kolhapure in the film Prem Rog, is probably the most popular song in her entire career. No other wedding song from Bollywood has been able to create the same innocence and emotions that this song, composed by Laxmikant Pyaarelal, evokes. Padmini herself has recently recreated the 1982 song for her son Priyaank Sharma and Paras Mehta’s label, Dhamaka Records, lending her own voice to the new version.
“Life has really come a full circle with this song. I was the daughter in the original song, and in this I play the mother whose daughter is getting married,” Padmini tells News18, referring to the song sequence in Prem Rog, where she plays a young bride about to leave her parents’ home.
“When Priyaank and Paras came to me and said they want to Yeh Galiyan Yeh Chaubara, I told them ‘Have you lost it?’ I thought they were crazy to even make such an attempt. It’s sung by Lata Mangeshkar, composed by Laxmikant Pyaarelal and directed by Raj Kapoor. How could we match up to those legends? But they slowly convinced me that they would do full justice to it in the remake,” Padmini explains.
Coming from a musical family – her father, Pandharinath Kolhapure, was a talented vocalist and Veena player – Padmini had always wanted to be a singer. But her career plans got derailed and she became an actress instead. “Singing was always my first love, but I ended up being an actress instead. I have always wanted to go back to it. Coming from a musical family, I was very careful about singing this song. It was a big challenge,” she insists.
But the biggest challenge was probably getting aunt Lata Mangeshkar’s approval. Padmini says she was scared to send it to the singing legend after recording. “There is no comparison to Lataji’s voice, no one can go close to her. I knew I would be judged for wanting to recreate her song. I was so scared to send the song to her, but she heard it and said, ‘You have sung well, continue singing’.”
Padmini was recently seen in the Disney+ Hotstar series Dil Bekaraar. Besides acting, she wants to continue singing as well. There is another song in the offing with Dhamaka Records, which will be in a different genre, she says, without spilling too many details.
